A DELIGHT Downsized IN WYOMISSING

BY DONNA REED | PHOTOS BY JOHN A. SECOGES, SECOGES PHOTOGRAPHICS

Nancy K. knows more than a bit about downsizing.

Life has taken her on many fabulous travels, but Wyomissing, from the very beginning, has always been the key place she’s called home. Along that journey, her life has been lived in several residences, both here and in Florida during the wintertime for the past decade.

At the start of 2023, she gave up her Snowbird status, returning to the borough and settling into a comfortable condominium that reflects her style and speaks to her interesting life.

Nancy’s first foray in downsizing came when she and her four children transitioned from their 9,000-squarefoot home on Reading Boulevard to another on the same street, an adjustment they were all on board with and came to love and appreciate.

Practicality

Though she loved the big home, Nancy took a pragmatic approach when it came to staying there.

“The four children were with me and I needed to consider expenses,” she says. “So, we moved to a smaller home also on Reading Boulevard.”

The decision, made with the children’s input, proved to be a good one.

“A move doesn’t have to be a sad thing,” she says. “Your home is where you are all together.”

The family being together is one thing, but moving the accumulated household, furnishings, art objects and other items is quite another.

Nancy’s second Reading Boulevard home was more contemporary than her big house, and acclimating the family’s possessions to it was a challenge.

First, of course, came the sorting of things.

“You must choose the things you love the most,” Nancy advises.

The children helped with the choices, and storage played a role in safeguarding pieces for future use and distribution to the siblings as they ventured into adulthood and apartments and homes of their own.

Marianne Disegi of Reading-based Interior Environments has long been Nancy’s go-to person when it comes to home design, from the big and smaller Reading Boulevard houses to her new condo in the borough. Disegi is both an architect and a designer.

“For the past 40 years or so, she’s the only person I’ve worked with,” says Nancy. “We just clicked, and she’s been able to incorporate my things in my homes with a style that lasted over the years. Things just continue to work together.”